A Newer Beginning

On Feb 6th 2010 Kelvin was involved in a police chase ending 2 blocks from our house. He ended up going up over a post and hitting the police car who was chasing him for DWI. He continued to try to get away when the officer had his head in the window. A ticket for assaulting a police officer, DWI, and possessing a pound of Marijuana they found displayed in plain view on the back seat of the Jeep Cherokee he was driving. He was arrested and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

On February 17th I filed for divorce. Court date being set for May 3rd. I made

arrangements to have that day off from work. I waited in the hallway for my lawyer to arrive and when she did we talked over what to expect. I sat quietly in the courtroom, waiting for my name to be called thinking this would be it. The judge would grant me the divorce right then and there and restore my name of Dennis back to me.

My name was finally called and the judge opened a book with a yellow sheet of prison stationary from Kelvin. He had written to the judge stating I would not let him see Dakota and that I was withholding items he wanted and would not let his daughter, Vallie Rose, pick up his things. Actually Vallie Rose had come the week after his arrest in February and got most of his things except his clothes. He also stated that I had blocked my phone number so he couldn't talk to Dakota, which was another lie, I did not have my phone number blocked it was shut off by ATT for non payment. For this reason the judge set another court date for June 3rd. I had to wait another month to regain my freedom from a man I had been married to for almost 17 yrs and rarely saw.

On June 3rd after making arrangements to have that day off as well, the judge granted me custody of Dakota, my maiden name and his dog. I had to give the new bbq grill I had bought him for Father's Day last year, 2009 back, but after 12 years what condition would it be in? The lawyer brought that to my attention. Vallie hasn't been back to get his stuff since February. The Fourth of July was coming up so I told Jennifer she and Eric could "borrow" it for their cookout. Afterall the judge said daughter but didn't specify which daughter and Jennifer was his step-daughter.

I was behind on everything. I couldn't pay the rent, without Kelvin's help I was barely able to keep the utilities on. The brakes that Kelvin "had fixed" in the Fall of 2008 were a mess and I had to have the car fixed which cost me 500.00 the amount of March's rent which was 550.00 I couldn't pay. The rent check bounced and the landlord threatened to kick me out, and have me prosecuted.

I wrote him an e mail decribing my difficulties and he wrote back and said for me to pay what I could until the amount due was paid. Impossibilty since every month adding another 550.00 and I was still trying to figure out how I was going to pay April's rent with July looming and now going toward August.

I finally called Cable and had a bundle added to my account of phone, internet and tv. Much cheaper for all three then having separate bills. Still that is over 100.00 to one company, plus the title loan on my car, and the utilities and 3 loans I had taken out when Kelvin wouldn't help me with the rent the previous year.

Now I sit and wait, single and alone, trying to care for a 15 yr old boy in highschool, no car insurance, hoping the landlord doesn't come by or an officer elling me I have a week to get out with no money to rent a new place, Fall is approaching then Winter. School starts in about a month, the middle of August and haven't any idea how I will manage that.

I signed up for the food stamp program in April and receive 168.00 a month in food benefits but no cash to help with rent and bills.

I still have my job, utilities takes most of that and household supplies, gas for the car etc..

Not sure how this is going to turn out. I have sold my 55 gallon fish aquarium but when I deposited that to go with what I had left of my check I have 142.00 left and 20.00 left in savings. Poor and getting poorer in good old St Joe!

After The Storm Continued 2008

In April of 2008, Jennifer had a Ford Taurus she gave to Kelvin when the transmission went out of it. He gave the Sable to Vallie who now lived in Arkansas with her new husband and two boys. He thought if they had transportation they would come and visit more often. Soon after the brakes went out of it and they were out of a vehicle again. Kelvin knows everybody and soon had the transmission repaired in the Taurus, gave the Taurus to me to drive and he drove the Cavalier. He struck up a deal with Lyle to buy a truck, which he really wanted anyway, that Lyle had bought at an auction which was a Dodge Ram, 2001. It was bigger than the Ranger. It also had an extended cab with a full seat and was a nicer looking truck than the 2003 Ranger he had bought and lost through repossession. In March of 2009 he had 3 wrecks in the truck, the last one totaled it. In order to get the truck from Lyle he needed 800.00 dollars down to take it home so he sold the Cavalier to a man who wanted the convertible. One week after he had it licensed, he drove it to Kansas City, drunk, and hit a parked car, totaling the Chevy I had had since 1996. I was so careful with it all those years. It was my red lifeline. Car repairs were expensive so I protected that little Red Chevy Convertible as if it was a precious stone from an expensive jewelry store. I was so sad when I heard what the man did to my little red car if not a little bit angry. Kelvin had sold the car for the 800.00 to buy the truck which he totaled, I had the Taurus which he had repaired and he again was without transportation. He now drives a little red Dodge Avenger with the money he had saved to get the truck fixed. The truck lies mangled at Lyle's lot on Garfield Ave.

Deaths of my Two Sisters, Audrey and Thelma and Brother Orville

On Novemeber 5th 2006 my dear sister Audrey died at the age of 81.
On March 30th 2007 my dear brother Orville died and just last Thursday April 1st 2010 my dear sister Thelma died following her husband Bob into Heaven to meet him and her son Steven who passed away in April 1985.

Ice Storm December 2007

Kelvin had been suspended for three days. He was so angry about it that he decided to quit that job and started another one in town, only five minutes away. This was a parts painting plant. Instead of making sewer lids and septic tanks he was now painting parts for plants such as Snorkel. Gas prices rose over 4.00 a gallon; in the long run we decided this job would be more economical. The pay was less and Child Support Division started taking more out of his check for Vallie when he had been in jail the first time before we met and his first wife, Diane, had been getting Welfare, Vallie was only 5 at the time. He also was continuing paying Child Support for Shelby at the same time. Student Loan started taking over 300.00 a month out of his pay check too. There wasn’t much left after that. He got paid every week instead of twice a week. I had to try and hold down the fort with my check alone. It wasn’t long before I got behind on everything, had to settle a couple of the credit cards, let the rest go. I tried to keep up the payments on his truck but by December of 2006 a tow truck driver came and took the truck back. Kelvin was beside himself with grief. He had always blamed me for everything that went wrong in his life including this downward economical slope. His buddy Lyle from the car lot offered him a blue 1995 Mercury Sable. He had been working for Lyle, washing cars and doing detail work at the garage when he got off work at 3:30 in the afternoons. He paid a small down payment and worked the rest off. It was a far cry from the new truck, the only new truck he had ever owned, which he had detailed with flame decals and embarrassing large silver “truck nuts” as they were called. He was so very proud of his truck. It was red, had an extension cab in the back where Dakota rode whenever we went anywhere as a family which wasn’t often. He took the guys he worked with to work and back and they helped with the gas when he worked in Gower. I on the other hand still drove the red 1992 Chevrolet Convertible which needed the top replaced. It had a tear on both sides at the base of the back window that tore a little more when the top was put down and then back up again. Even so it was a good car that got me where I needed to go.
While I was living on 20th street before Kelvin came home I had taken it to a car wash in town that was a full service car wash, fully automatic, washed, and waxed, dried the car. I was in line along with many other people as it was December and the weather had let up some and the sun was shining. Everyone pick that cold day to go to the car wash. As I was waiting in line the guy that worked there started to tell me something, then thought better of it as there was no place for me to go. There were cars in front of me and cars lined up behind me. When it was our turn to go through the open doors of the garage, I paid the money to the man and slowly proceeded through. The car rocked and rolled. The wind for drying was strong as a hurricane. Dakota was in the back seat with his Chief’s jacket on when he started crying and complaining he was getting wet. I looked and the back windshield had blown out, water was pouring in but you couldn’t go until the green light for “go” came on. He was a “drowned rat” I was wet and the wintry air came through with a vengeance.
I left and immediately sought a garage to find out where I could go to get the window replaced. I found a garage off Pacific, close to the Belt Highway. 320.00 Later I had a new window. Two days after that someone had sliced the top above the new window and tarp I had just paid to have repaired. I had to go back and have it sewn together. Other than that the top had no leaks and as long as I didn’t put the top down too much in the Summer time it was good to go.
December 2007 the ice storm hit. In order to keep the tree limbs from the tree I always parked my car under from falling on my car Kelvin, doing a good deed, moved the car across the street under two smaller trees that seemed less threatening which in turn both fell on the car, tearing massive holes in the top and tearing off the side mirror on the driver’s side. I patched these with masking tape, the large tree I had parked it under to begin with showed no extensive damage except for a few twigs and leaves in the space where the car had been.